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Pacifica Radio Archives

Pacifica Radio Archives is considered by historians and scholars to be one of the oldest and most important audio collections in the world.

Chronicling the political, cultural and artistic movements of the second half of the 20th century, Pacifica radio programs include documentaries, performances, discussions, debates, drama, poetry readings, commentaries and radio arts.

The Pacifica Radio Archives appraise, collect, organize, describe, preserve the creative work generated by, or produced in association with, Pacifica Radio, and make it available for research and reference use.

They focus on materials that reflect the memory, traditions and evolution of Pacifica Radio. The intellectual content of the collection emphasizes a common thread of social justice covering cultural, health, historical, political, psychological, racial, religious, philosophical and social aspects of society over a variety of subjects.

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In 2011, Pacifica Radio Archives received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to preserve 150 programs from our vaults, with preservation assistance from George Blood Audio and Video in Philadelphia, PA. The resulting collection encompasses an eclectic array of programs, some of which were only very recently discovered by PRA staff. Among some of the many highlights of the collection are a WBAI interview with Andy Warhol about his film Chelsea Girls shortly after the film’s...

20,710

Funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and Pacifica station listeners, this one-year project brings to life fragile and deteriorating reel- to-reel tapes of national significance. Three categories of tapes were selected that highlight some of the strengths of our collection: • Pacifica and Politics: Pacifica’s extensive collection of political programs, covering a variety of topics such as Watergate, COINTELPRO, race and gender relations, featuring personalities...

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TO HAVE DONE WITH THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD, written and read by Antonin Artraud. Artraud reads from his play, in French. BROADCAST: KPFA, 15 Oct. 1968. In French.(41 min.) BB2075 Pacifica Radio Archives. Topics: artraud, antonin, pacifica

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In 2013, the Pacifica Radio Archives received funding from the GRAMMY Foundation to preserve two significant series of tapes that were originally recorded at and broadcast on Pacifica’s New York station, WBAI-FM: The Free Music Store (1969-1975) and The Mind’s Eye Theatre (1966-1969). Sharing the belief that culture belongs to the people, these two programs brought the performing arts to audiences for free every week while collapsing distinctions between “high” and “low” culture. ... Topic: pra

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Humorist discusses his transition from straight comedian to a social satirist. He talks about how Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl helped him get started, where he is headed now, and his recent firings from nightclubs for his use of political material and "objectionable" language. Recorded at the Playboy Club, San Francisco, on December 29, 1970. Topics: George Carlin, Pacifica, Comedy

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Several voices come together to tell the four part documentary on the life and influence of Nelson Mandela, South African president who served from 1994-1999 and the first president to be elected in South Africa by a representative democratic election. Sandra Radley is the producer, writer, and narrator. Bill Wax is the executive producer. Source: KPFA

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James Baldwin discusses living and growing in a white world in a talk to students at a predominently Black high school in Oakland, California. RECORDED by KQED at Castlemont High School, Oakland. BROADCAST: KPFA, 23 June 1963. Topics: Baldwin, Pacifica, KPFA, Castlemont

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The Pacifica Radio Archives is host to an extensive collection of programs that have dealt with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, including what we believe to be the first radio program to explicitly address the topic from 1958. That program and others are featured in this collection, whose preservation and access were coordinated between New York University’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation graduate school program, the University of California, Berkeley Moffitt...

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The Pacifica Radio Archives is one of the oldest and largest collections of non-commercial listener-sponsored public radio programs in world. Chronicling the political, cultural and artistic movements of the second half of the 20th century, Pacifica radio programs include documentaries, performances, discussions, debates, drama, poetry readings, commentaries and radio arts. The Pacifica Radio Archives appraise, collect, organize, describe, and preserve the creative work generated by, or... Topic: Pacifica Radio

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On the comedian's battle for free speech on stage. Lenny Bruce, forefather of the socially conscious comic speaks before a live audience about drugs, the police and his arrests. Bruce speaks openly about his own addictions, being arrested by the LAPD and the violation of his civil rights. 1963. 28 minutes. Topics: Lenny Bruce, Pacifica, Comedy

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Award-winning journalist, best-selling author and host of Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman narrates this documentary, which spans more than 65 years of convention coverage and chronicles milestones in American political history. From the formal speeches of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, to the battles inside and outside the Chicago 1968 convention and the radical sounds of Rage Against the Machine in the streets of Los Angeles in 2000, the documentary showcases the Pacifica Network's progressive... Topics: democratic national convention, republican national convention

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A) An interview with George Carlin. Produced by Larry Bendky for "The Living Room" in 1997. B) Richard Pryor on Attica. A Compilation of Pryor's poetry and comments made during the Attica prison rebellion. Produced by Alan Farley in 1972. 78 minutes. Topics: Richard Pryor, George Carlin, comedians, progressive comedians, Alan Farley, Larry Bensky, The...

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On the Kennedy assassination; interview by William O'Connell. Recorded: 29 Dec. 1967. Description: Josiah Thompson is interviewed about his book "Six Seconds in Dallas about the President Kennedy Assassination".(58 min.) BB4627 Pacifica Radio Archives. Topics: kennedy, assassination, dallas, pacifica, coverup

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SUN RA / interviewed by Dennis Irving. - Poet, mythical scientist, musician, and leader of Solar Arkestra discusses his mystical view of the world and humanity. He begins by defining his style of music within the concept of infinity, his role as a musical "coordinator," and the importance of music for all people. Blacks have been cast as "evil" in the Western world, which has lead to a decline in African American self value. Music, he suggests, can counter this history. Sun... Topics: sun ra, irving, african, jazz, pacifica

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French-Cuban Author Anais Nin (1903-1977) reads excerpts from her memoirs "The Diary of Anais Nin" which she began writing at the age of 11and continued to write until her death. She is also the author of "Cities of the Interior" and is aslo well known for her erotica literature. Source: KPFA

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The Film since World War Two - Pauline Kael 1968. Recorded: at University of California, Berkeley, 26 Apr. 1968. Description: Film critic discusses the history of filmmaking. Reels: 1 of 2 Length: 64:42 Total: 117:00 BB2116a Pacifica Radio Archives. Topics: kael, film, berkeley, pacifica

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Campus Or Battleground: A Report on the Events at Columbia University in late April of 1968, by Ayn Rand with guest Dr. Robert Hessen. SERIES: Ayn Rand commentary no. 3 - Rand presents her views on the world, international politics, current affairs, and human thought. BROADCAST: WBAI, 15 Oct. 1968.(25:00min) BB3777.03 Topics: rand, ayn, commentary, activism, columbia, pacifica, objectivisim

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THE DELANO GRAPE STRIKE: Cesar Chavez introduced by Hank Anderson. Cesar Chavez, President of the National Farm Workers Association, spoke in Berkeley under the auspices of of Citizens for Farm Labor, on January 5, about the progress of the Delano Grape Strike and the history of the National Farm Workers Association. He is introduced by Henry Anderson, Chairman of Citizens for Farm Labor. - RECORDED in Berkeley. BROADCAST: KPFA, 15 January 1966. (29 min.) BB2358 Pacifica Radio Archives. Topics: delano, chavez, labor, farm, grape, strike, pacifica

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The Battle for Hue / reported by Dale Minor. News reports on the fighting in and around Hue during the Tet offensive. Recorded in Da Nang, South Vietnam, 22 Feb. 1968. Pacifica Radio Archive, 1968. BB1327 Pacifica Radio Archives. Topics: tet, vietnam, pacifica, minor, hue, da nang, war

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A Day in the Park - 1968 Festival of Life. Narrated by William Malloch. Recorded: Lincoln Park in Chicago, Ill., 27 Aug. 1968. Description: Sound actuality recorded at the Festival of Life held in Chicago, Ill. which led to the infamous Trial of the Chicago Seven; includes music and confrontation with police. (80 min.) BB4160 a & b - 2 recordings. Pacifica Radio Archives. Topics: festival, life, chicago, seven, seale, hayden, rubin, hoffman, pacifica

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"Radio documentary about the New York Police Department Public Morals Section"" raid upon the Stonewall Inn on June 27 1969. Patrons of The Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar, fought the police officers, thus starting a riot. This program uses views of the participants, examines the gay life both before and after the event, and its impact upon gay politics and history in the United States. Participants include: Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine; Sylvia Rivera"

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Confronted by conservative R.H.Darden, a white reporter, James Baldwin questions his own qualifications to represent the average black man. (3:45)Pacifica Radio Archives Topics: baldwin, pacifica, darden, race

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Convention coverage in Chicago, 1968. Sounds from downtown demonstrations and Democratic convention nominations. Reported by Steve Bookshester and Dale Minor, interviews by Julius Lester. Actuality from Pacifica's coverage of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Examines the political struggles on the floor of the Convention. Features Julius Lester's interviews with Black delegates who talk about the confusion and corruption of the process, as well as his reports on the battle on... Topics: politic, convention, chicago, knight, ginsberg, pacifica, bookshester

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Dave van Ronk and Patrick Sky perform at WBAI's Free Music Store with special guest Phil Ochs on April 21, 1973. The evening is introduced by WBAI's Steve Rathe. The three guitarists switch off performances throughout the evening. Songs played on Part 1 of this recording include Frankie and Johnny, Casey Jones, Flower lady, [song by Patrick Sky about jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge], You ain't so such a much, Pretty smart on my part, Ramblin' hunchback, The legend of the dead soldier, and... Topics: Folk music, Ochs, Phil, Van Ronk, Dave, Sky, Patrick

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Jane Fonda speaks at the University of California in Berkeley on January 29, 1973. She gives an anti-war speech at a rally for Pat Chenoweth, a soldier facing charges of mutiny in Vietnam. The tape is courtesy of the Chenoweth Defense Committee. She speaks about the Mekong Delta, Nixon's role, and the resilience and strength of the Vietnamese. Fonda reads a few excerpts from one of the chief negotiators of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam in Paris which talks about the... ( 3 reviews ) Source: KPFA

Pacifica Radio Archives is considered by historians and scholars to be one of the oldest and most important audio collections in the world.

Chronicling the political, cultural and artistic movements of the second half of the 20th century, Pacifica radio programs include documentaries, performances, discussions, debates, drama, poetry readings, commentaries and radio arts.

The Pacifica Radio Archives appraise, collect, organize, describe, preserve the creative work generated by, or produced in association with, Pacifica Radio, and make it available for research and reference use.

They focus on materials that reflect the memory, traditions and evolution of Pacifica Radio. The intellectual content of the collection emphasizes a common thread of social justice covering cultural, health, historical, political, psychological, racial, religious, philosophical and social aspects of society over a variety of subjects.